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Photo by Bob Pennell Chris Reece, like many a young man, took a term off from college to find himself. So far the 20-year-old has found himself selling undergarments at Victoria's Secret in Medford's Rogue Valley Mall. Victoria has a new secret His name is Chris and boy did he land a good job! By MARK FREEMAN Chris Reece is about to be, quite literally, let in on Victoria's Secret. Reece, a 20-year-old college student and part-time river-rafting guide, will count himself as one of the rare and lucky men to break into the women's underwear world from the inside as a floor salesman in a Victoria's Secret store. Reece starts his part-time work Wednesday at the fancy bra and panties store in Medford's Rogue Valley Mall. He does not know how many hours he'll work. Heck, he hasn't even asked what the pay is. Yet Reece says this is no thinly veiled attempt at a new angle for meeting women. "I'm not going to lie to you," Reece says. "It's a prime opportunity to meet a girl there. But that's not my interest. I went in looking for work, and it's a good job. "This isn't, like, a prank or anything." Company managers say it is unusual for a man to work in this traditionally female sales world. But how rare is, well, another one of Victoria's secrets. Marnie McLaughlin, public-relations manager at the company's Columbus, Ohio, corporate office, declined to reveal how many male salesmen are in its stores. "We don't release that information," McLaughlin says. "We are an equal-opportunity employer, and we'd like to leave it at that." Reece's silk-and-garters version of the man-bites-dog story began quite innocently two weeks ago, while he was strolling through Rogue Valley Mall stores looking for a sales employment opportunity. Reece, a Cincinnati native and Ohio State University student, has taken the fall school quarter off to spend with his friend and fellow rafting guide Jim Grantland of Medford. After Reece and Grantland popped in at the mall's record and sporting goods stores, Grantland dared Reece to apply at Victoria's Secret. He filled out an application and returned the next day for an interview. And then Reece, who took time off from college to "find himself," found himself ... a bra salesman. Reece stresses that his work is all business. He said he believes having a man around will help the occasional shopper who is in search of something for his wife or girlfriend but is too embarrassed to ask a saleswoman. "I have a background in retail, and the selling is the same," Reece says. "But the clientele is different, and it's intimate apparel." He will also qualify for the main Victoria's Secret perks -- a free sample of new products, like the Desire line of bras. Soon, Reece will have enough free samples either to keep his family well-suited or to be completely prepared to see "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" in full costume. Family orders already have come in. "I was talking to my mom, and she told me her bra size," Reece says. "I don't want to know this." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA